Donaldson does it with defence
The Josh Donaldson that Blue Jays fans know and worship — and hope to see again and again as the season wears on — showed up at the Rogers Centre on Saturday, spurring his team to a 7-2 win over the Houston Astros.
Toronto was down 1-0 in the third, thanks to a George Springer RBI double, when Donaldson leaped to grab a sharp line drive from Houston shortstop Carlos Correa and threw to first to double off a scrambling Josh Reddick.
“Huge momentum shifter,” said Jays starter Marcus Stroman, who had given up four hits to that point but allowed just two more in his seven innings. “(That was) J.D. just showing off his athleticism. I felt like, after that play, I kind of just told (myself) to really get back in the zone, my guys were picking me up, I need to do my part. Shoutout to J.D. for that, man. It was incredible.”
The double play not only energized the starter, who allowed just one run through seven innings, it kept the Jays within arm’s reach of the best team in baseball.
And Donaldson put a little distance between the two teams with a three-run homer in the fifth. Astros starter Mike Fiers hit Jose Bautista in the hand, allowed a single to Russell Martin and narrowly missed hitting Donaldson in the head before the third baseman let his bat do the talking.
“I don’t think the guy was trying to do it intentionally but at the same token when it’s up around the head area, nobody appreciates that,” Donaldson said.
“But in the end, I was glad to help our team win.”
Troy Tulowitzki added another three-run homer in a four-run seventh to give the Jays their fourth win in five games, all against the Yankees and Astros.
“If we’re going to get to where we want to go, you’ve got to beat the top teams,” manager John Gibbons said, crediting the pitching and the offence for finally coming together.
Stroman, who was yanked early in his last start with a hot spot on his pitching hand, didn’t have any blister concerns on Saturday. But he did have issues with home-plate umpire Paul Nauert. The righty was frustrated early in the game when Nauert allowed Houston catcher Brian McCann to call time during his stopand-start delivery.
The pitcher said he has received inconsistent answers from umpires as far as what he can or can’t do during his windup, though he has studied video of San Francisco Giants starter Johnny Cueto’s similar hesitation tactics and doesn’t believe he’s doing anything wrong.
“The umpires have zero idea,” Stroman said.
“They have no idea. They call it one time, the next they don’t. They have a discrepancy, for sure. He allowed Brian McCann to essentially call time out, which is a bit ridiculous considering I started my windup. I don’t think they have a hold on it at all, but I’m going to continue to do it.”
The 26-year-old also plans to continue to deliver strong performances in the second half of the season, after a first half that he “absolutely” believes was worthy of an all-star selec- tion.
“I think I should have been there, 100 per cent. I think I’ve pitched well enough. That’s all I’m going to say,” he said after his ERA dropped from 3.42 to 3.28.
The snub —Smoak and closer Robert Osuna will represent the Jays in Miami next week — motivated Stroman’s performance on Saturday, and he says that should continue. “I expect a pretty big second half out of myself.”